Challenges Facing The World Today 's Society

What is the role of the individual in helping to solve some of the problems we face in our society today? What are some of the problems we face in our society today? In today’s society we are currently facing ten major issues according to toptenz.net and should these problems be considered as individual or social responsibilities? “Now that we are well into the new Millennium society has begun to recognize serious concerns with issues that kids have to deal with today. Some issues have always been there but are now coming to the eyes of the public to find solutions. Other issues are new trends as society begins to adapt to a faster pace of life (Standberry).” Here are some of the issues facing our youth today: single parent households, drug/alcohol abuse, growing up to fast, and violence in schools, materialism, obesity, education disparity, shifting economy, and loss of national pride. So how do we fix just one of these problems, do we come together for a common purpose or do we stand alone and try to make a difference.

In spite of all advantages mention earlier about ethically and socially responsible business practice, it also has disadvantages, limitation and challenges. The most common and obvious limitation would be the cost that comes together with every investment a business does in order to meet all publicity’s requirements, for instance setting up Ronald McDonald House Charities. Every business has a goal which is at the top of their goal list and it is to be profitable. What is more, it is challenging to maintain the publicity’s and stakeholders’ satisfaction when investing into the society, employees and the environment.

John Mackey, founder of Whole Foods once said "Business social responsibility should not be coerced; it is a voluntary decision that the entrepreneurial leadership of every company must make on its own." (Mackey, 2005) In today’s society it is increasingly common for businesses to actively identify and become directly involved in the country and the global social issues and needs. It is now common

Many believe that business entities should have an ethical duty to be socially responsible, to work towards increasing its positive effects on society while decreasing its negative effects. Many organizations look for opportunities to be socially responsible while also creating shareholder wealth.

The expectation that businesses behave responsibly and positively contribute to society all while pursuing their economic goals is one that holds firm through all generations. Stakeholders, both market and nonmarket, expect businesses to be socially responsible. Many companies have responded to this by including this growing expectation as part of their overall business operations. There are companies in existence today whose sole purpose is to socially benefit society alongside businesses who simply combine social benefits with their economic goals as their company mission. These changes in societal expectations and thus company purpose we’ve seen in the business community over time often blurs the line of what it means to be socially

Listening to Michael Porter speak about the reason why business can be good at solving social problems, the one thing that stuck out for me in his monologue was that business profits from causing social problems. In his view, it is conventional wisdom that business is the problem and the solution is to change how business sees itself. Training, clean drinking water, protection of forests and other good things that bring good to us as a human race, they are the solution to the social problems and can be reached by understanding that when these needs are met, business creates wealth. Business creates wealth and we seek to meet the needs again. It sounds like a circle that keeps rounding and feeding one and the other.

With the 3 TED talks I have collected, they all contain something that captures my attention and pulls me in better than most.

In the article, It’s Time to Reinvent Work by Richard Branson explains that governments, non-profits organizations, and individuals will not be able to create social change, instead the world needs businesses to help instigate social change. Therefore, we can show the world that business can be a force for good by working together to reinvent work. Businesses should have a greater purpose than just doing business to make profits.

With the goal of “not just to be the best in the world, but to be the best for the world,” Benefit Corporations or B Corporations, want to be the change in the world by using business to combat social and environmental problems (B Lab, 2014. “Why B Corps Matter.”) . Designed for profit companies that want to consider their impact on society in addition to making a profit, B Corporations aim to “redefine success in business” (B Lab, 2014. “Why B Corps Matter.”). Whereas a traditional corporation has a goal to generate as much revenue and profit as possible, Benefit Corporations also work to create general public benefit and thus make it their responsibility to satisfy all stakeholders, not just shareholders. Because of their desire to benefit all their stakeholders, B Corporations work to create higher quality jobs and improve life in communities by becoming an agent for of change in passing legislation and investing capital to make a difference in the world. Besides being accountable to all stakeholders, B Corporations are more transparent than that of traditional corporations as they are required to annually issue a report to the public, assessing their overall financial and environmental performance against a quoted threshold known as the B Impact Assessment. In acting socially responsible as a mission rather than an option for businesses, Benefit Corporations are working to transform revolutionize the way business is conducted.

This is a persuasive paper defining various business terms like corporate social responsibility and equal distribution of wealth. The thesis statement does state that the CSR programs are applied in various developed organizations to set an example for small and rising enterprises whereas the anti thesis statement is that there are no moral obligations felt by businesses to be involved in CSR. The financial aspect of CSR activities is also discussed; at times it is thought that involvement of business in any environmental friendly work may lead to higher costs whereas an opposite point of view is that CSR increases long run profit (Aras & Crowther, 2009). Now day’s Triple bottom line concept is aligned with business which is another

I do not agree with the following quote by Milton Friedman. Engaging in activities that are designed to only increase profits for a company would open doors to complications and mistakes, which is caused by the lack of customer satisfaction. The social responsibility of any business should be to take care of its customers, instead of just focusing on the amount of profit the company is making. If a company decides to just focus on making a profit, it will lose focus on providing customers with products and services that will improve their standard of living.

Corporate social responsibility has been one the key business buzz words of the 21st century. Consumers' discontent with the corporation has forced it to try and rectify its negative image by associating its name with good deeds. Social responsibility has become one of the corporation's most pressing issues, each company striving to outdo the next with its philanthropic image. People feel that the corporation has done great harm to both the environment and to society and that with all of its wealth and power, it should be leading the fight to save the Earth, to combat poverty and illness and etc. "Corporations are now expected to deliver the good, not just the goods; to pursue

Some business leaders are taking good moral decisions and the reason behind that idea is that the core part of their business strategy is to create mutual benefit for both wider society and business as well. The growing desire of top management is to find out ways to create mutual benefit for both the organizations and the stake holders but the public still believes that companies are greedy entities which make decisions only in their self-interest, even at the cost of greater public welfare. It is the utmost obligation of the companies to discern the social issues while making the decisions (Yashiro, Yoshida and Suzuki, no date; Godwin, 2006; Schwab, 1996; Godwin, 2008; Werhane, 1998; Werhane, 2002; Heath, 2008; Mehalik and Gorman, 2006).

Business people today are more aware about the social and the environment impact of their business than in the past. They start taking into account activities in helping others and preserving the environment as a main part of their business model. Business is no longer solely aim for profit as they have much larger purpose than that. However, to achieve that purpose, the business people need the Government and NGOs to create strong synergy in achieving the desirable outcome.

Willy Brandt once remarked:” Western Europe has only 20 or 30 more years of democracy left in it; after that it will slide under the surrounding sea of dictatorship” (Crozier, Huntington, Watanuki, 1973, 2). It would seem that democratic governments have become increasingly unable of facing “the challenges of the modern world”. Specifically, democratic European governments have become increasingly incapable to adequately represent the interests of the governed, while economic growth has also produced forces within nations that could potentially lead to the potential “regression”(Crozier, 1973, 49-50) of European states from democracy into tyranny (Crozier, 1973, 49-50).